Henley Hawks face a huge test if they are to avoid relegation following their 27-14 defeat by fellow strugglers London Welsh at Old Deer Park on Saturday.

The Welsh now lead Henley by six points in the battle against the drop.

From the first time that Hawks tried a passing movement in their own 22 and centre Ric Van Zyl was driven back in the tackle, they were struggling to put any authority on the game.

The spine of the Welsh side was much stronger and more effective than Henley's.

Half-backs Alan Chilten and Dylan Pugh controlled their side's possession effectively, supported by Mike Meenan, whose kicking and positioning from full back pinned the Hawks back.

He also exploited a hole in their blindside defence in their 22 with a well-timed run to take Pugh's reverse pass to score without a hand being placed on him.

This try with Pugh's conversion and penalty gave the Welsh a ten-point lead after 22 minutes.

The Hawks misfortunes were further compounded when the influential Adam Holloway was forced to retire through injury after 28 minutes.

By that time, the hosts had extended their lead to 17-0 with a try by right wing James Strong, converted by Pugh.

Hawks responded when left wing Nnamdi Obi, on an overlap, was able to sprint over for his 13th try of the season, which Matt Honeyben converted.

London Welsh scored the vital first try of the second half when Henley full back Pete Davies's pass went to a red shirt ,and the Welsh established themselves on the Hawks line which resulted in a pushover try by No 8 Paul Cox, converted by Pugh.

Henley brought on several replacements, but a period of dominance only ended with another penalty for Pugh

After Welsh lock Kevin Burke was sent to the sinbin, Hawks immediately took the opportunity to force lock Adam Harris over for their second try, with Honeyben adding the extra points.

But it was too little too late for Henley, who now look doomed to the drop.

Henley also lost injured No 8 Tom Hayman just before the end.